ST. PETER, Minn.— A man and woman in southern Minnesota are accused of dropping off a 5-year-old boy in the woods as punishment for wetting his pants.

Lynda Michel, 42, and Gregory Wilson, 32, were charged Friday in Nicollet County District Court with child neglect. Authorities say the boy is Wilson’s biological son and that Michel lives with him and the child.

The boy was found on Aug. 28 walking along a highway south of St. Peter, near Mankato, authorities say. He was crying and wet from rain when a motorist spotted him. He told police he had been dropped off by his “mom and dad” because he had been “naughty,” and that he didn’t know if they planned to come back.

Police found the couple on a road in the woods. They were apparently looking for the child but had not called anyone to report him missing.

With them was a second man who told police he had tried to talk the couple out of the plan; the boy corroborated that statement.

Michel and Wilson reportedly admitted they had driven the boy to the woods and ordered him out of the car, telling him, “This is what happens to naughty boys.”

They said they returned after 15 minutes but couldn’t find the boy.

According to investigators, officers found “multiple black and blue and red bruises” on the boy’s back, buttocks and hips, indicating they had been caused over time. Wilson reportedly told investigators that he regularly spanked the boy with an open hand. Wilson also faces charges of gross misdemeanor malicious punishment of a child and misdemeanor domestic assault.

The child was taken into protective custody and is currently in foster care, according to court documents.

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